So, you decided to stick around for the rest of the semester? Great! You’ve made it through the “syllabus day.” Now it’s time to get started and time to buy books. What, no one told you? Yeah, unlike elementary, middle school, and high school, you have to buy books. No one’s giving them to you and almost all of your instructors will swear that it’s a must that you buy them. Some of them will also share the same name as the author, because, well, they are the author! Yes, they’re lining their pockets, and please don’t allow them to tell you otherwise. Oh, wait, you didn’t consider book costs into your scholarship money, the money you saved up, the money your parent(s) set aside, or the financial aid you planned on spending a certain way? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. No one tells you that books are now one of the hottest commodities at the collegiate level. More bluntly, no one told you that they’d cost so much. Sure, the rhetoric is that education is absolutely necessary and without it, no one in our society succeeds. You may respond by asking yourself – as you stand in line with $400 worth of books – why aren’t my books free if education is a core value of our society…well, this blog can’t answer that question. After all, buying books that you’ll never use for a ridiculous amount of money is the American way! What this blog can tell you is that you have options. Trust me, buying new books is overrated!
So, should you beg, borrow, or steal? Don’t steal! Going to jail makes it difficult to attend class. But, don’t be afraid to beg, well not beg, but ask. You never know who has the useless book that you’ll never open or never use again. There’s certainly no reason lining Professors’ pockets with nothing substantial in return. Borrow, borrow, borrow! If you don’t plan on sticking with this major past this class or past undergrad, the book is pointless. Borrow it from a colleague, a roommate, or a library (yes, they still exist). Save the money! Don’t save the money to buy a bottle of Moet in the club or to get the real Louis V. Save the money. Put it in a savings account for rainy days. Yes, a SAVINGS ACCOUNT. Trust me, nothing runs out faster than college refund money, not even a no-good baby daddy or your favorite color of MAC lip gloss. Trust! So, borrow books if you can, take good notes on scrap paper, and save money for when you’ll really need it.
Yes, borrowing books is the way to go! When I attended college I used a system called OhioLink. It is a system of all of the higher education libraries in Ohio. Most states have a system like this.
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